Amazon takes on iPad with new backlit Kindle Fire

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Amazon’s founder and chief executive Jeff Bezos on Thursday unveiled a new, larger version of its Kindle Fire tablet, with a high-definition display.

The new Kindle Fire HD will be available in the standard size but also with a 8.9-inch (22.6 centimeter) display, he told reporters at a press conference in Santa Monica, California, in a bid to take on Apple’s market-leading iPad.

“Our large-display tablet is only 8.8 millimeters (thick), and weighs 20 ounces (560 grams),” he said, unveiling the larger device after also unveiling a new back-lit version of the online retailer’s ground-breaking Kindle reader.

The Kindle Fire HD has dual-band Wi-Fi and two antennas, he said, comparing it to the iPad and the Google Nexus 7 tablets, which it will likely compete directly with.

Bezos said the upgraded Wi-Fi specifications and increased processing clout would make it run 41 percent faster than the latest generation of the iPad, launched earlier this year.

The Kindle Fire announcements came after he unveiled a new basic Kindle reader with so-called “paperwhite” display. It will have a battery life of eight weeks with the backlight on, and will ship October 1.

The paperwhite Kindle will retail at $119, while a 3G mobile version will cost $179. A new version of the basic Kindle will be reduced in price from $79 to $69, he said